Well, this has to be the manga I had to do prep work for the most so far. This is a supplementary material to a videogame, so of course, you’ll have to play that videogame first. And no, this isn’t the case when you’ll be okay without even doing so – you won’t understand anything without the knowledge. But you see, the game this is based on isn’t the first entry in its franchise. Far from it. So first you’ll have to play the previous 2 + 1 games. Then you should ideally also read some supplementary manga and novels and also watch the anime original story that does actually kinda ties to this. Only then you are ready to read this manga.
So, was it worth? That’s a bit tricky question. Because you’re not going through the previously mentioned media just for the sake of this manga. They have merit on their own. Danganronpa is damn good, I’d even say. This is more of a bonus, and extra, something for the fans to keep in touch with the fictional world a bit longer. That is exactly the main point of this manga – to meet the characters once more.
This isn’t even the first Danganronpa anthology, and it functions the same as the previous ones. The content is comedy to contrast the themes of the parent story. Despite being collection of works by multiple writers, the stories stay mostly in character for the cast, albeit as mentioned in a more comedic situations. Most of them don’t have much merit on their own, being just a fanservice – in the non-sexual meaning of the word. But that’s okay. That’s what this is meant to be.
Overall, this is definitely an enjoyable experience for fans and I’d recommend not skipping it if you’re already familiar with the prerequisites of the franchise. But as mentioned previously, this won’t make any sense to you if you are not.